After the Globe pointed out the appointment would help Fehrnstrom qualify for a large state pension, he resigned from the board, protesting "unwarranted political attacks" on Romney.

Risky strategy

By the start of his second year in office, Romney was preparing to go over the heads of the Democratic lawmakers who were resisting his initiatives. He decided to take his case directly to the electorate.

The outlines of what would be a frontal assault on the Democrats in the 2004 fall election emerged in his State of the State address that January. Using the word "reform" at least 10 times, Romney laid out his challenge.

"Quite simply, reform is about putting people first," Romney said. "We have to put people we don't know ahead of political friends we do know, schoolchildren ahead of teacher unions, and taxpayers ahead of special interests."

It was a risky strategy in a year when the state's favorite son, Sen. John F. Kerry,D-Mass., was winning the Democratic nomination for president and would be at the top of the November ballot.

In the past, Republican governors had tried to pick off a few legislative seats to build their numbers, but Romney personally began an aggressive recruiting drive and in May, unveiled a slate of 131 Republicans, the most in a decade, for the Legislature's 200 seats.

With Romney's help, the state party raised $3 million and sent a blizzard of direct mail attacking Democrats for supporting state college tuition discounts for illegal immigrants and being soft on sex offender laws.

For his part, Romney campaigned for more than 40 candidates with almost 70 trips around the state.

With so much advance warning, however, Democrats were ready for the fight.

For Romney and the anemic GOP, it was a train wreck. The party suffered a net loss of two seats in the House and one in the Senate.

Romney, who rarely spent political capital in pursuit of policy initiatives, had put his prestige behind his reform agenda and hand-picked candidates.

He gambled and lost.

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Next: Growing ambition